The Bluff in my Rearview Mirror

In life, everyone starts from somewhere. Some may start at the starting line while others begin in the parking lot. Her journey began on the south side of the tracks and took her up on Rodeo Drive in the winter and 5th Ave in the spring. Attending a different school every year forces you to be independent. It turns all the attention—good or bad—on you. You learn to read the room, feeling for temperatures both cold and hot. You accept there will be fights, bullying, and a small chance of seeing them again. It’s both liberating while simultaneously scary. So you adapt. Put on a brave face … That brave face, stiff back, and rehearsed introduction of self is how she opened locked doors to VIP rooms, kingpin dens, and celebrity homes. Then in a blink, it all became a waking nightmare. The allure of the pink, glamorous life she sought was now before her and the heaviness of all she fought for was now starting to smother her. Now, with everything on the line, will her well-honed survival skills be enough to win, or will she be crushed beneath the weight of her own contradictions?